Off to New Jersey(Pt 1 of the 6th Annual REAL McRoll Holiday Marathon)
by sammy1026
Summary: The gang heads to Nonna's for Christmas.


_Welcome to part 1 of the 6th Annual REAL McRoll Holiday Marathon. There will be a new story every day between now and January 3rd. (Though we retain the right to keep going until January 5th if we're having too much fun.)_

_Hope you enjoy it!_

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**Off to New Jersey**

"Can I help you with that?" Jenna asked as a young mother tried to reach into her diaper bag for a bottle while holding her fussy infant as harried holiday flyers moved all around them.

"Thanks," the woman replied gratefully. "She's cutting a tooth which … I just realized … is probably the last thing a person about to get on an airplane with us wants to hear."

Jenna chuckled. "No worries." She pointed to the group of ten kids gathered near the windows of the Gate 5 boarding area and said, "See all those kids over there? Five of them are mine so fussy babies don't scare me at all. If you need anything at all during the flight, please feel free to ask."

The tension on the woman's face eased significantly. "I appreciate that."

"Ok, everybody in our group gather around for some last-minute reminders and instructions," Danny said as he and Steve stood near the center of the busy boarding area.

Catherine and Gabby watched with amusement at the looks on the faces of their fellow travelers as they realized there was such a large group on the flight, over half of whom were children, all wearing matching shirts proudly proclaiming them as the Cousin Crew.

"We just became very unpopular," Gabby chuckled as Cody, Jess and Jadon helped herd the younger children across the gate area.

Jacob and DJ's eyes had been wide with anticipation since they entered the airport terminal several hours earlier. Luckily there had been no shortage of things, from departing planes to moving walkways, to keep them occupied while they waited. Dylan, who had been studying up on how airplanes fly for nearly a month, was a big help, answering as many of the younger boys' questions as he could. Kaitlyn, somewhat nervous about the flight now that it was so close, clung to Casey's hand. Jenna was very proud of the patient way her oldest daughter was helping calm her little sister. Grace, a veteran of many flights, was helping as well by regaling the others with stories of all the fun things they would do once they reached Nonna's house.

Elizabeth, Joseph and Grandma Ang stood off to the side talking to a young military family who were headed off to a new deployment at NSA Saratoga Springs in upstate New York. Joseph and Elizabeth were very familiar with the base and were happy to share their insights while their young twin daughters bubbled to Grandma Ang about how excited they were at the prospect of seeing snow for the first time.

As Steve and Danny reviewed proper airline behavior with the children Catherine double checked the 'busy bags' she had packed for DJ and Angie.

"Those were a great idea," Gabby said.

Catherine looked into the totes filled with snacks, books, crayons, coloring books, and small puzzles among other essentials for keeping younger children entertained during a long flight. "Jenna helped me pack them." She'd been confident she knew what would keep Angie distracted but the experienced mother's insight into 6-year old boys was invaluable.

"I've had a little practice," Jenna chuckled as she joined the group. "Never for a plane ride but I figure the principal is the same as a car trip."

"If anyone needs to go to the bathroom during the flight … " Danny said.

"Wait!" Jacob's eyes grew wide. "They have a bathroom on the airplane?"

"Yes," Danny smiled. "If you need to go just let one of the adults know and we'll take you."

"Cody counts as an adult, right?" Jacob asked, wanting to be clear. Jenna had been talking to him for weeks about having good behavior on the flight and he didn't want to make any mistakes.

"Yes, Cody counts as an adult in this case," Danny confirmed.

"What about Jess and Jadon?" Jacob pressed.

"Jess is a definite yes." Danny smirked. "Jadon is a yes only if no other adults are available."

"I'll take it," Jadon grinned.

Jenna had been ecstatic that their mothers had given permission for Jess and Jadon to join the group on the trip. Cody had been working so hard between his job and school and helping with the kids whenever possible. Jenna wanted him to have a real vacation and she knew that without the others he would most likely spend the entire time in New Jersey helping to look after his siblings. During a phone call earlier in the week Nonna had assured her that plans for several 'teens only' outings were already in the works with Sal and Angela's daughter.

"I really hope I remembered to pack everything we'll need," Jenna said as Danny moved on to a review of the use of indoor voices. "I tried to check everyone's suitcase but it was a crazy week at work and I had last minute shopping to do and I just hope nothing got overlooked."

"Don't worry," Catherine said. "If you need anything while we're there I know where the mall is."

"Good," Gabby chuckled. "Because I'm already pretty sure I left my curling iron on the bathroom counter at home.

"We had to turn around this morning and go back because Kaitlyn was heartbroken that she forgot to leave a picture of all of us beside Midnight's bed, so she didn't miss us too bad while we're gone." Jenna smiled softly. "Luckily we were only about a mile from home when she remembered."

"I had Angie's suitcase sitting on her bed after breakfast waiting for a few last-minute items," Catherine said. "She took out all the clothes I had in there and threw them on the floor. She put in six pairs of pajamas, her aardvark and as many books as she could fit and said, "Aww done. Let's go."

The 2:00 PM flight had been carefully chosen as the best way to minimize potential jet lag. After a layover in Los Angeles where they would meet up with Mary, Aaron, Joan, and Aunt Deb, they would fly across multiple time zones and land in New Jersey at 7:30 AM local time. The children, and to be honest most of the adults, had been so excited about the impending trip they'd barely slept the night before. With any luck everyone would get some sleep on the airplane and be as refreshed as possible when they arrived at Nonna's.

A voice came over the PA. _"Flight 2754 to New Jersey with a stopover in LA will now begin boarding."_

"Jer-zee!" Angie flung her arms in the air excitedly. "Nonna!"

Catherine beamed. "Here we go."

**Stay tuned tomorrow for part 2 of the marathon.**

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